The Kurt Show
by aslongastherearestarsaboveyou
Summary: AU - Kurt's life is a TV show slight crossover with The Truman Show . He meets Blaine, an extra on the show - and a fan - who wasn't meant to talk to Kurt at all, let alone fall in love with him. Can Blaine keep the show's secret and his own as they grow closer?
1. Chapter 1

**I'm re-uploading this chapter because I've heard that this website is taking down a lot of stories that break their rules and I'm almost expecting that to happen to me. As such, I want to make sure everyone who follows me/my fics knows that I have a livejournal. My username is xstarsaboveyoux please bookmark me there as well as here so that you don't miss any updates, in case these do get deleted thanks.**

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"We're here today with Stephen Miller, award winning executive producer of the ever popular television extravaganza, 'The Kurt Show'. Welcome to the show Mr Miller." The blonde presenter smiled brightly at him through shiny red lips that Stephen couldn't help but be distracted by. They reminded him of the small amount of psychology that he studied in college and his mind offered up a memory of a study into make-up and how women use red lipstick to remind men of their vaginas to entice them. Being openly gay, he considered this to be a waste of time on her part.

It was this easy recollection of facts or maybe it was his obsessive nature that made him so good at his job; his innate attention to detail was something that he used frequently to make sure everything ran smoothly on the show. He knew about all the props, character's storylines, and news stories that they'd exposed Kurt to so they didn't slip up and feed him bad information from anywhere. They stored it in files around the offices too, but he still had it, permanently, all in his mind.

"Mr Miller?" The blonde presenter repeated when he didn't respond. Stephen blinked back into focus and nodded his acknowledgement. He hadn't bothered to learn her name. He had so many people whose names he had to remember now that another one was just too much. Plus he was so desperate to get back to the office that it was a formality that he could do without.

"So why don't we start from the beginning Stephen, if you don't mind me calling you that." The presenter laughed and leaned forwards to pat his knee flirtatiously. Stephen managed to hold himself back from flinching, being entirely not used to physical contact like that.

_Of course I fucking mind_, he thought to himself while smiling gently at the presenter and shaking his head, his actions hiding his true feelings with practised ease. He knew that every so often he was required to make such an appearance to the public to talk about his creation, but it made him uncomfortable and nervous nonetheless. He was so much happier to be behind that control desk, watching over Kurt _his_ Kurt that all of the media attention that came with it just gave him anxiety.

"Tell me, how did you originally come up with such a unique idea as filming one person's entire life?" She asked. Stephen shifted in his seat slightly, preparing to tell what was, now, a very long story.

"Well, I majored in media studies in college which was where it started. We had to do a study on the Big Brother television shows and the sort of people that entered them. I found it to be interesting how, even though the contestants were filmed constantly, there was always a barrier between them and the audience. They always knew they were being filmed and so it stopped the audience from being able to really get an insight into who they were as people. The idea of seeing how one person reacts in various different circumstances when they are truly unaware of anyone watching them intrigued me and wouldn't let me go until I started researching the possibility of actually producing something like it."

"And that was when you found Kurt?"

"That's right," Stephen nodded, recounting the story for what he assumed was probably the hundredth time in the past 17 years. "Both of Kurt's parents died a few weeks after he was born. He happened to be at the adoption home that we visited and at the right age for him to have not gained enough outside stimulation to affect his character too much. That was what the deciding factor on picking him was. We then found Burt and Elizabeth Hummel, both actors, who were happy to play his parents and commit to a life in front of the cameras."

"Of course, at that time, you had no way of knowing how art would tragically imitate life for him when, at just 10 years old, he sadly lost Elizabeth Hummel to cancer."

"That's right," Stephen nodded, his eyes showing just a small hint of the sadness he felt at the loss of his colleague 7 years ago. "When Elizabeth passed, it was very tragic for many people on the show. Of course it was unexpected so there was no way of simply writing her out. Equally, we felt that Burt should be able to grieve for his wife properly while still being able to work as there was no way of writing him out for a while either." The presenter nodded, frowning gently. Stephen could tell that her concern was fake; just a face that she had practiced and put on because it was appropriate but, either way, he appreciated the staid tone that it was, rightfully, giving that section of his interview.

"Now, I do have to ask about the controversial decision that you made when Kurt was around 12 when it became apparent that he was, in fact, gay." Stephen rolled his eyes and nodded, taking a deep, steadying breath. He knew this was coming; it was always coming. He didn't really see it as all too controversial but, based on how the rest of the world had acted, it seemed it was. "Of course we know that homophobia has rapidly decreased in this country since it became legal in all states for gays and lesbians to get married. However, you made the decision to bring Kurt up in a world where it was not only illegal, but where homophobia is actually very prominent. What drove you to that decision, may I ask?" Stephen took another deep breath before talking.

"Well, although you are correct that homophobia has rapidly decreased, it's not gone altogether. Equally, I was adamant on making a stand to stop it from coming back the way it was. Everyone loves Kurt, so it meant that I was in a unique position where I could show how homophobia is wrong by showing people how someone they love is affected by it."

"However, you also made the equally controversial decision to then have Kurt become the victim of bullying due to the homophobia present in his world, is that correct?"

"Yes, that's right." Stephen nodded. "Bullying is another issue that is very close to my heart, having been bullied myself in school. Again, it gave me a chance to highlight not only how horrific it is, but how it can affect someone's life."

"Don't you think it's a bit cruel?" The blonde presenter said with a hint of viciousness in her tone. She leaned towards Stephen and narrowed her eyes. Stephen widened his eyes for a second at the sudden change in her demeanour.

"I'm sorry, what?" Stephen said. He shifted in his seat and frowned in confusion; the hot lights making him sweat uncomfortably and he was suddenly so grateful that this was a pre-recorded interview they could cut this out at a later date, at least.

"Isn't it just a way for you to get more ratings by creating drama in an innocent boy's life unnecessarily?" Stephen shifted again. What was going on? This wasn't what had been agreed before the interview. The blonde presenter was still leaning towards him, resting her arm on her crossed legs and waiting patiently for his answer. Stephen glanced over to where his PA, Ruth, was standing.

"Uhm… I-I don't think…" Stephen stuttered, opening and closing his mouth in panic as he tried to form a sentence.

"You don't think what, Mr Miller? That it was a good idea to take away a child's chance for a normal life for, what is, essentially, a tortuous existence?" Stephen gulped thickly as the presenter continued to glare at him. He looked back over to Ruth who was already starting to walk over.

"I d-don't think that was on the approved question list…" He said, nervously.

"No, it wasn't," Ruth said as she stormed towards them. "This interview is over." The blonde presenter automatically sat back in her seat, any sign of fierceness in her face instantly disappearing.

"Sorry, sorry, I had to ask…" She said, holding up her hands defensively. "It won't happen again." Stephen watched, interested, as the blonde presenter smiled up at Ruth, clearly trying to appease her so that she could continue with the interview. "Shall we take some phone calls, maybe?" She nodded towards Stephen, trying to encourage him to stay.

"No." Ruth said sharply. "We're done here…" She frowned, ignoring the blonde presenter's protestations.

"Ruth, it's fine." Stephen held his hand up to stop his PA from dragging him out of his chair. "At least let me take some phone calls." That was his favourite part of any of the media appearances he was forced to do. He always enjoyed talking to fans of the show; he relished the fact that they all loved Kurt just as much as he did or rather _almost_ as much as Stephen did because, he was certain, _no-one_ would truly love Kurt as much as him.

"Are you sure, Stephen?" Ruth asked, bending towards him so she could whisper in his ear. "I'm not sure if I trust them anymore…"

"It's fine," Stephen repeated, forcing a smile at her. "If they even come close to fucking up again, we'll be out of here." Ruth nodded seriously and backed away to allow the interview to continue. Stephen watched as the blonde presenter's face automatically morphed into "camera-ready" and she smiled widely.

"Now, we've got a few fans on the line with some questions, ready for you to answer, Stephen. So if we could go straight to line one… hello, you're on the air with Carly Lewis and Stephen Miller! What's your name and where are you from?" _Carly Lewis,_ Stephen noted to himself, already knowing that he'd forget the name a few minutes later.

"H-hi Carly," a nervous female voice came across the loud speaker in the studio. It was a little too loud for Stephen and he winced as he felt an uncomfortable thrum in his ears; the words running through his body unpleasantly, like thunder. "My name's Jen and I'm from California."

"And what's your question for Stephen, darling?" Carly asked in a manner that was drastically different from how she'd been approaching Stephen just a few minutes earlier.

"Hi Stephen," Jen breathed out. "I was just wondering how you feel about watching Kurt grow up, considering you've been watching over him for most of your life?"

"Ooh, good question, Jen." Carly smiled and turned towards Stephen. "So Stephen, any abandonment issues?" Stephen laughed gently.

"Not exactly," he glanced at Carly, trying to keep his tone light-hearted. "Obviously dealing with Kurt growing up and his life changing is difficult for everyone. However, we'll still be continuing with the show and following his life through whatever he decides to do next."

Stephen continued on through the next few questions with ease what are the show's plans for Kurt once he leaves school? Hopefully he'll be going to college, or he'll be taking over from Burt's business. Is everything really live or is anything pre-recorded? No, it is all 100% live. Where can I buy the jacket that Kurt wore to school a few weeks ago? All of Kurt's clothes are available to buy on the "Kurt's Fashion" website. He'd only had to lie once too, which was a relief of course everything was on a 30 second delay, there'd be no way of getting to air if it was completely live but he didn't want the viewers to know that. The fact that they thought anything could happen at any time was what kept half of them watching.

They were getting to the fifteenth question and Stephen was becoming drowsy. He blinked his eyes a few times to keep himself from nodding off under the heat of the studio lights. He got incredibly grumpy whenever he was tired and, he figured, that was probably the reason why he acted the way he did to the next question.

"Okay," Carly smiled widely, somehow still looking fully alert. Stephen considered for a second if she had help with how awake she was looking, especially as he'd been trying his best to stifle a yawn for the past three questions. "So who have we got on the line next?"

"Hi Carly," a bright male voice boomed out across the studio. Stephen was thankful that his ears had started to adjust to the sound level but this voice was so loud and enthusiastic that it still made him jump slightly. "My name is Blaine Anderson and I'm from Westerville in Ohio."

"Ooh not too far from Kurt himself then, Blaine?" Carly joked lightly. "What's your question for Stephen?"

"Well, firstly I just want to say that I'm a huge fan, Mr Miller." Blaine said. "I absolutely love the show, I watch it as much as I can every day."

"Thank you," Stephen smiled gently, trying to hold back another yawn.

"I was just wondering, Kurt's seemed kind of lonely recently… were there any plans to introduce a potential boyfriend for him soon?" Stephen's heart leapt into his throat.

"What?" He said, frowning as the concept of Kurt having a boyfriend made his breathing quicken somewhat.

"A… a boyfriend for Kurt?" Blaine said, now sounding marginally more nervous. "It just seems sad that there's no-one there to look out for him…" No,_no_! Stephen felt increasingly angry as the boy clarified his question further. _What does he mean there's no-one there to look out for Kurt, _I_ look out for Kurt!_ Stephen thought to himself.

"No!" Stephen said, unable to keep his thoughts to himself anymore. "No. Kurt doesn't need a fucking _boyfriend_, he's happy as he is."

"Really?" Blaine said, clearly concerned. "He doesn't seem it?"

"Well, how would you know?" Stephen snapped. "I know him best and I know he's happy!" Stephen got up and started removing his microphone. "I'm fucking over this." He said to no-one in particular as Ruth started walking over.

"What's up?" Ruth asked, frowning with concern as she reached him. Stephen was playing with the wire from his microphone. It had wrapped itself around a button and was stuck.

"I'm fucking tired and they're putting through fucking stupid questions." He explained, tugging angrily at his microphone as Carly watched them, stunned. "I'm done."

"Ok, ok." Ruth said, trying to calm him. "It's fine, we can go." She reached out and unhooked the microphone wire just before he was about to tug it off, not caring about whether he broke the equipment or not. She placed the microphone in Carly's hands and chased after him as he rushed off into the wings of the stage and backstage to his dressing room. "Stephen!" She called just as he turned the corner into his dressing room.

"What?" He growled at her, grabbing his keys from the dressing table.

"Are you ok? What was that about?" She asked concerned. Stephen considered explaining it to her. He considered telling her the insane, selfish possessiveness he felt about Kurt; how that possessiveness had reared it's head when that kid asked the question about Kurt getting a boyfriend. But she wouldn't understand. No-one really understood. He'd tried to explain it a few times before to friends, family and once or twice to lovers but no-one really got it. They all thought he was just infatuated and would often tell him that he just needed a break. How could he then explain it to someone who, although she worked for him, was almost a stranger? How could he explain how his fascination with Kurt and Kurt's life had grown throughout the years maybe even starting to manifest itself as love now that Kurt was growing into a young and very attractive man? Stephen shook his head.

"I'm just tired." He said, burying any other explanations deep into the pit of his stomach.

"Ok." Ruth nodded. "Are you going home?" Stephen swallowed and glanced down at his keys.

"Yes," he lied. "I'm just going to stop by the office first. I… I left something there…" Ruth nodded again and bid him goodbye, promising to clear the room up for him and pick up anything he might have left behind. As Stephen left the studio, he had absolutely no intention of going home. He was going to the office, that wasn't a lie, but he was already planning on staying there for the night, unable to face the cold, emptiness that was his apartment.

Stephen headed straight to his car, barely even noticing how late it was, and turned on the engine. His mind wandered as he drove through the darkened streets of Ohio. He thought back to the interview and his reaction to that question. He considered how someone he knew might react to seeing him act like that. He thought about the relationships that had broken down because, no matter what, he would never focus his attention fully on anything other than Kurt. It wasn't that he was unable to focus on anything else, he just didn't want to. None of his boyfriends seemed to understand that and they soon left him as soon as they realised it. That was fine. The way he saw it, it was him and Kurt against the world and that was just how he liked it.

Thankfully, his body seemed to automatically know the way to the studio and took over as his thoughts swam around his mind. He hurriedly pulled into his usual parking space and rushed into the studio barely pausing to say hello to the night security guard as he rushed up to the control room. He didn't want to wait any longer, he had to see him.

Stephen quickly rushed into control room and pressed the buttons to turn on the giant screen in front of the desk where he spent most of his day. The screen was still focussed on Kurt's living room where, Stephen assumed, his employees had been watching him earlier. Stephen felt around in the dark and managed to find the button to switch the screen so that he could see Kurt's bedroom. He sighed happily when he saw Kurt sleeping peacefully in his bed. Stephen pressed the button to zoom and allowed Kurt's sleeping face to fill up the entire, wall-sized screen.

Stephen smiled as he stepped around the desk and started to walk towards the screen. Kurt was stunning. He congratulated his past self for making such a good choice all those years ago. He didn't see how he could have possibly felt so much for anyone else and he knew his life would be so bare without Kurt in it. Stephen reached out his hand and lightly stroked along the screen where Kurt's nose was. He was so beautiful so delicate and strong at the same time. Stephen stepped closer to the screen and placed a small kiss to where Kurt's lips were. He pressed his forehead against the screen and sighed contently.

He thought that the idea of Kurt getting a boyfriend was ridiculous. Stephen was all Kurt needed, even if Kurt didn't know it, and there was no way that Stephen was going to allow anyone else the chance of getting close to Kurt; they would only hurt him and there was no way Stephen was going to let that happen. As he rested his head against the screen, listening to the sounds of Kurt's light snoring, Stephen knew that he was going to keep doing anything he could to keep Kurt safe and he would never, ever let anyone get in the way of that; not friends or family members and especially not any boyfriends.


	2. Chapter 2

**Due to the recent changes and mass story deletions on this website, I've found myself a new home and am gradually moving all of my fictions over there. I am now updating on www dot yourfanfiction dot com. Any stories that I have here that are unfinished, I will continue to update here, but any new stories will now be posted there or to my livejournal. I'm on yourfanfiction as getwhatyouwantorjustgetold still, or xstarsaboveyoux on livejournal.**

**I'm sad to have to move, but I'm too afraid of my stories getting deleted without warning here and I don't really trust the website anymore. If you'd like to follow my updates and read anything new, find me there (and I hope you will!). I've already updated a chapter to something else I'm working on there that I haven't posted here, so take a look! Hope to see you all there soon :)**

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Kurt wasn't bored. That wasn't it. As he lay in his bed, staring up at his ceiling and waiting for his alarm to go off, he had been thinking about it and had decided that it wasn't boredom he was feeling. He was used to his life. Things were the same for him day in, day out and he hadn't known anything different, so how could he be bored when he didn't know if there was anything else out there?

Kurt's alarm started buzzing loudly and Kurt smiled; he'd been able to predict it almost to the second. He rolled over sleepily and slammed his hand onto the button to turn it off before pulling his bed covers away. He stretched as he sat up, his mouth opening in a wide yawn. The sun started to peer in through Kurt's curtains and he smiled again; at least it looked like it was going to be a nice day. He crawled out of bed and into his en-suite bathroom, promptly jumping into the shower to start his morning routine.

Thinking about it, he liked his routine. Wake up, shower, skin care, get dressed, breakfast, school. It was predictable - safe, reliable – and he liked that about it. Everything else in his life, especially at school, was always so hectic – something always seemed to be happening to him or someone else around him - that he got comfort in the fact that he always knew exactly how things were going to be when he woke up. No, there was no way he could say he was bored exactly. However, Kurt couldn't help but think that there must be more to life than this. Not necessarily something better or worse, just… _different_. Kurt wanted different; he was desperate for it. He yearned for the day when something would happen to him outside of the usual drama of school; of broken relationships and friendships, failed exams, and bullies. Even just getting a solo in Glee Club would be something different. Different enough to maybe dull the ache he felt in his chest whenever he remembered that he was a young adult and still yet to go anywhere outside of Lima, Ohio, for at least a few days, maybe even weeks. Kurt had spent the past year or so dreaming about different and what it might feel like. He just hadn't worked out yet how to get it. Maybe it would be college – in New York! – or maybe a boyfriend; maybe a distant relative he'd never met dying and leaving him their fortune. Either of those things would be fine for him. Anything would be fine for him.

It didn't take him long until he was washed and dressed, having already picked out his clothes for the day the night before. The smell of bacon wafted through the house as Kurt started walking down the stairs from his bedroom to where his father was currently cooking breakfast.

"Morning, kiddo." Burt called to him as Kurt walked through the house and flopped himself down at their dining table.

"M'rning," Finn muffled through a mouth full of bacon. Kurt glanced at him for a second and wondered how on earth he had a crush on him not so long ago. He shuddered slightly at the thought that he was now his step-brother, which made his past crush on him all the more awkward and embarrassing.

"Morning," Kurt replied, trying to stifle another yawn. Burt watched him fondly, an amused smile playing on his lips. It didn't matter to him that Kurt wasn't biologically his. After spending so many years practically raising the boy (along with the help of the show's crew behind the scenes), Kurt was Burt's son and that was how he'd always see him; especially after they'd helped each other so much through his wife's death.

"Tired?" He asked. Kurt rested his head in one hand and nodded sleepily.

"I was up most of the night practicing for Glee Club," Kurt said as he started playing with the fork that had been laid out on the table in front of him. "Not that it'll matter; I imagine Rachel will still get all of the solos." Kurt rolled his eyes. He heard Finn make a muffled sound of protestation, trying to defend his girlfriend, through his mouth full of bacon but chose to ignore him.

"I'm sure that's not true." Burt smiled, appeasing Finn, before placing a jar, very precisely in front of Kurt when he yawned once more. "You should try some of this." He spoke brightly and gestured to the jar. "It's new Nescafe Morning Instant Blend Coffee. It tastes so good, you won't be able to tell the difference between that and fresh coffee. Plus it's got added antioxidants for that extra pick-me-up that you need before a hard day at school!" Burt paused and grinned at Kurt, finishing his sales patter.

"I'm ok, thanks." Kurt said. "I think I'm just gonna head to school a bit early and try to find Mr Shue to see if he'll give me a few tips for Glee Club."

"Don't you want your breakfast?" Burt said, holding up a few almost burnt pieces of bacon. Kurt glanced at them for a second while trying to hold back a look of disgust. He loved bacon, but the way his father cooked it was always terrible. He could see a drop of grease threatening to fall from the darkened pieces of meat and shook his head.

"I think I'll get something at school thanks." Kurt said before quickly grabbing his bag and leaving the house. As he got into his car he smiled and waved at a few of his neighbours who had greeted him on the way out. As backwards and homophobic as Ohio was, he couldn't deny that he had always had terrific neighbours.

As Kurt drove through the streets of Lima on his way to school he noticed a boy and girl walking along the street hand in hand. Kurt sighed as he sped past them. Why couldn't he have that? Why wasn't he allowed to find someone he could walk hand in hand with? He tried not to show it on the outside, but being the only openly gay kid in Lima was lonely. It was his senior year and the only kisses he'd had so far were from a cheerleader at school that he kissed while he was pretending to be straight and when his bully, Karofsky had planted one on him the year before. It was fairly dramatic but not exactly the height of romance. He didn't even really consider them to be real kisses. He wanted so badly for his knight in shining armour to turn up and rescue him, taking him away from everything that was mundane and safe about his life. It was cliché, he knew that, but it didn't stop him wanting it.

Kurt pulled up at the school and jumped out of his Navigator, clutching his bag tightly out of habit. The school bullies had recently taken to grabbing it from him and upturning it, laughing as his books dropped out, so now he automatically gripped his bag tighter in hopes of stopping it from happening. Kurt took a nervous glance around the parking lot. It may have been early and, almost predictably, empty, but that didn't stop him from feeling edgy.

Thankfully, it really was too soon for anyone to be there and so the only people that Kurt could see were a few teachers, a couple of particularly academic students and two of the more serious athletes, who were throwing a ball around to warm up for their early morning sports practice. They were the ones that Kurt was most nervous about – the football team had a vendetta against him ever since he joined the team as a kicker a few years ago and outshone most of them within the space of a session. He'd long ago left the team, but that didn't stop them from still holding it against him, only fuelled further by their vicious hatred of his homosexuality. He watched them out of the corner of his eye as he started to make his way across the car park. It seemed like they were focussed on their game of catch and weren't that bothered about Kurt being there, or hadn't noticed him yet.

Kurt prepared to breathe a sigh of relief and walk away quickly when one of them threw the ball too hard and sent the other one racing across the car park towards him, to try and catch it. Kurt paused and flinched, waiting for the impact. It never came, though, as the boy managed to catch the ball, but bumped into a tree next to him instead.

Kurt spluttered out a laugh uncontrollably and then gasped when he saw what happened next. The tree started to lean towards him. At first Kurt thought he must have been imagining it, but when the tree swayed back away from him he realised that he wasn't. Kurt's eyes widened and everything seemed to go into slow motion as he watched the tree sway forwards and backwards a few times before a large metallic crack snapped through the air and the tree was falling. Towards him. Kurt's breath quickened and his heart started to beat out of his chest as the tree began to fall. Suddenly, all thought of why on earth a tree had been knocked over by a human ran out of his mind. As did any form of common sense about what to do in this situation. Kurt assumed that at some point his body must have gone onto auto-pilot and he jumped out of the way because, by the time he heard the loud crash of the tree landing on the ground, he wasn't in its path anymore.

Everything seemed to stop for a few seconds as everyone stared at the tree, dumbfounded. Kurt blinked a few times, feeling a mixture of shock and amazement. Had he really just seen that? Did a tree really just get knocked over by a human being – a kid? Kurt took a few tentative steps towards it, curious as to what happened to make it fall. As Kurt stepped towards the trunk of the tree, his eyes widened in horror. The trunk - the trunk was _hollow_! Kurt stepped forwards again and was about to investigate further when he heard Mr Schuester's voice behind him.

"Kurt!" Will Schuester called out. "Kurt, are you ok?" Kurt simply nodded, his gaze flitting between his teacher and what he was certain was a hollow tree trunk. "Kurt," Will breathlessly arrived by Kurt's side, from running across the car park. He grabbed Kurt's elbow and turned him away from the tree, stopping him from getting a better look at the broken tree. "We have to take you to the nurse!" Will said, nodding and starting to tug Kurt through the car park. Kurt glanced back over his shoulder as he was dragged away and pointed back to the tree in confusion, trying to direct Will's attention to what he'd just seen. Will purposefully ignored him. "No excuses," Will said, acting like he thought Kurt was protesting going to the nurse, "you've had a shock so you need to get checked out." Kurt sighed as he allowed himself to be taken to the nurse's office. This day was already not looking good.

Ruth rushed into Stephen's office, not bothering to knock, a panicked look on her face.

"Stephen!" She exclaimed when she saw him slumped over the control desk, his head rested in his arms. Stephen bolted upright with a gasp, his eyes widening for a second at being awoken so quickly. "… Did you stay here all night again?" Ruth asked wearily. She had told him so often how bad that was for him – for anyone – but he never paid any attention to her.

"No." Stephen said grumpily. "What do you want?" He asked, trying to change the subject. Who was she to tell him what to do anyway?

"Oh," Ruth rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. "One of the trees fell over and nearly crushed Kurt!" Stephen's back straightened instantly and he looked over at Ruth with worry in his eyes.

"Is he ok?" Stephen asked, frowning to try and hide his obvious concern for Kurt's welfare.

"Yeah, he's fine, he managed to jump out of the way just in time, but he saw inside the tree." Stephen groaned, irritated, and pressed the bridge of his nose tightly between two fingers. He wasn't sure how he managed to deal with such stupidity on a daily basis without going crazy. Or maybe he was going crazy and he just hadn't realised it yet.

"How did it happen?"

"It was one of those stupid jock extras we hired last week. The idiot ran into it!" Ruth laughed nervously and ran her fingers lightly along the top of the clipboard she was holding. She hoped that if she kept the tone light it wouldn't seem like as much of a big deal.

Stephen sighed loudly and let his shoulders slump forwards. This wasn't the first time he would have to cover up for someone's incompetence and it wouldn't be the last. It was times like these that he desperately wished he was able to clone himself so he could do it all himself and not have to rely on other people.

"Well that's a kid that's 'transferring school's' fairly quickly." He said sarcastically before adding despairingly, "How closely did he see it?"

"Not very. Thankfully we were able to get Will there quickly enough to keep him at a distance. I think he managed to use some excuse about Kurt needing to go to the nurse to get him away but we'll still need to cover for it just to make sure." Stephen watched Ruth shift on the spot uncomfortably as she waited for his solution. It automatically made Stephen feel uncomfortable too and he hurried to try and get her to leave.

"Right. Fire the kid and put a news report on tonight about worms eating trees or fungus or something. That should sort it." He said quickly and watched as she quickly scribbled down his instructions. He paused, waiting for her to leave and huffed when she didn't. "Is there anything else?" He asked slowly.

"Uhm, nothing much. I just needed you to sign off the copy for the competition advert…" Ruth said, biting her lip bashfully. She didn't want to be there just as much as he didn't want her there. Stephen watched her fidgeting for a few moments. It was interesting to him how, in public, it seemed to be easy for her to be fierce and defend him against any nasty reporters or similar, but whenever they were alone together, she became timid like a mouse. He made her nervous; he was certain of it. He hadn't quite worked out why though, and that irritated him. S_he_ irritated him. He was normally so good at reading people that not being able to read her made him feel stupid and useless. It was not a feeling he liked and it meant he was automatically uncomfortable whenever they were alone together. People were a hard enough species for him to understand as it was, without having to spend prolonged amounts of time with someone clearly so guarded. Stephen completely missed the irony of the fact that most people felt that way about him also.

"What competition?" Stephen asked, trying to filter through his memories to find when he'd agreed to a competition.

"The, uh, the "Be an extra for a week" competition?" Ruth prompted. "You mentioned it last week when we were hiring the extras? At the… at the agency?" Ruth spoke unsurely, worried that she'd made a big mistake.

Stephen suddenly remembered the conversation they'd had about that and he laughed gently to himself. He wasn't being serious when he'd said it. He hadn't expected anyone to take it seriously. Yet, apparently, they'd taken him seriously enough to waste their time drawing up a whole advert for it. His dry sense of humour had come back to bite him in the ass once more.

Stephen huffed out a breath and ran his fingers through his hair. Why was it that he had to be so overt about his jokes in order for people to get them? He was not an overt person in any way shape or form; he didn't see why he should be. However, it meant that, all too often, people – his staff especially – took him a lot more seriously than they should. Stephen held out his hand towards Ruth, silently asking to be passed the advert. Now that they'd already worked on it, he figured they might as well run the competition; what harm could it do really?

He glanced over the heavily branded ad and wrinkled his nose at all the bright colours. He knew his marketing team were brilliant at drawing their customer's eyes, but he still preferred when things were a bit more toned back – staid almost. This advert certainly wasn't that, but it would work; he knew it would work.

"Ok, run it." Stephen nodded and handed the advert back to Ruth. She took it from him and turned to leave. "Make sure to put it on a product where purchase is necessary!" Stephen called after her. "Sales will go through the roof." He added, unintentionally to himself as she was already too far away to hear him. Stephen glanced at his watch and saw that he still had half an hour until the rest of the day staff started to filter in. Shrugging, he rested his head in his hands and chose to use the extra time to get a bit more sleep.

_"If you've just tuned in, you're listening to Radio WIMA. Here's tonight's news._

_Scientists are in shock today when an epidemic of rotting fungi has endangered certain breeds of trees throughout Lima. Across the city, a number of trees have fallen due to a rare virus eating at the tree from the inside out, leaving them nearly hollow. Although they aren't certain on the breed of fungi that has caused this, scientists have said that they are currently investigating the situation and will have a solution to the problem within a matter of days._

_There have been no injuries reported but Police have advised residents to take precautionary measures and stay clear of the trees in Lima until they have been removed."_


	3. Chapter 3

Blaine rolled his eyes as his friends teased him for what would be at least the tenth time that hour. He'd only gotten as far as telling them about the competition before they started fooling around - he hadn't even had the chance to tell them how they fit into his plan yet. That was the part he was dreading the most.

"Of course," Wes said, with mock-authority, "if you win and Kurt doesn't fall instantly in love with you, I will be not only shocked, but completely horrified. I may have to take the situation into my own hands…"

"Really, Wes?" Thad added, laughing loudly, "and what exactly are you going to do? Gavel some sense into him?" Wes' mouth dropped open.

"How dare you?" He said, trying to hide his smile. "I'll have you know, this gavel is a very powerful tool and I can be very persuasive when I'm in charge of it!" Wes waved his gavel around in the air, almost directing it towards Thad, but not quite. "Anyway, once you're finished with your insubordination, Thaddeus-"

"That's not my name."

"-we'll get back to the matter in hand - Blaine's love for a mythical creature." A few giggles spread around the room as Blaine fidgeted on the spot and sighed. He'd been standing and taking the jibes from his friends for a good ten minutes and his feet were now starting to ache, just as much as his patience was wearing thin.

"Kurt isn't a mythical creature," Blaine said, frowning gently in the hopes that they might realise to stop fooling around now.

"He might as well be the way that you talk about him," David piped up.

"_Oh Kurt, he's so wonderful_," Jeff added, batting his eyelashes jokingly and putting on a silly voice.

"_Kurt's so handsome!_" Nick followed suit.

"_I'm going to marry him one day!"_ Jeff returned, both of them falling into each other and breathlessly howling loudly shortly afterwards. Blaine crossed his arms and tried to hide the small pout that he could feel was coming on. He couldn't believe how long they'd been teasing him for it.

"Look, it's fine, don't worry." Blaine said sulkily. "I wish I'd never asked now," he mumbled as he sat down.

"_Warbler, __Blaine __Anderson!_" Wes said with mock-anger, banging his gavel repeatedly and making Blaine jump slightly. "Get up immediately please. We're not finished." Blaine sighed and stood up again, straightening his blazer as he did. "Now, please explain to the whole room, exactly what you would like us to do." Blaine looked around the room to see all eyes on him, and all faces grinning. He swallowed thickly before speaking knowing that if they'd already teased him so harshly before he mentioned his plan, they certainly have a lot more to tease him about after.

"Ok, well, I know it's not something we normally do, but..." Blaine took a deep breath before quickly saying, "I wanted to perform off campus." The room went silent as Blaine closed his eyes, waiting for and dreading the bad reaction that was surely about to come.

"With the Warblers?" Wes said, his concerned voice piercing the silence after a few seconds.

"Yes." Blaine opened his eyes and nodded. His heart raced as he tried everything he could to settle his nerves and hide how he was really feeling.

"For this competition?"

"Well," Blaine cleared his throat and fidgeted slightly. He could feel his face burning red with embarrassment at having to explain the reason for wanting to perform off campus to all of his friends, "the competition said that I needed to explain why I would make the best extra for "The Kurt Show" in the most original way possible. So I was thinking… flash mob." Blaine raised his eyebrows and smiled around the room, hoping that his optimism for the idea would rub off on his teammates.

"Blaine, you do know the Warblers haven't performed in an informal setting since 1927 when the Spirit of St. Louis overshot the tarmac and plowed through seven Warblers during an impromptu rendition of 'Welcome to Ohio, Lucky Lindy'?" Wes asked, frowning with concern. "Why would we change that now?"

"I think it could benefit us as performers?" Blaine said hesitantly. Really, the idea was mostly about him being able to get a good application for the competition that he was so desperate to enter. It just so happened that he had to get all of The Warbler's approval in order for that to happen, but they could at least get something from it and that was what Blaine was going to use to convince them. "We've hidden ourselves away for so long, that we've become delicate, and... and fragile. I think this could help us to spread our wings and strengthen our performance ability." Blaine paused and watched as Wes considered his suggestion. Thad and David either side of him leaned towards Wes to discuss it quietly. Blaine could see them frowning before all nodding in agreement and leaning back in their seats, smiling.

"_If_ we agree to this," Wes started speaking carefully, "and you don't win... you're not allowed to talk about Kurt for a month."

"That includes taking down the poster above your bed." Thad added with a grin. Blaine's eyes widened for a second in panic - surely they couldn't be serious?

"Th-that's a little unfair, don't you think?" Blaine frowned as he looked around the room at the rest of The Warblers, hoping that someone would speak up and agree with him, but everyone stayed silent.

"Blaine, you know as well as we do that this is mostly for your benefit - we have to get something out of it and if that means some peace from your obsession-

"Its not an obsession!" Blaine interrupted petulantly. Wes smiled at him sweetly, trying to placate Blaine as he continued speaking.

"-if that means some peace from your _intense interest_ in one Kurt Hummel, then it may be just what we need to convince us..." Blaine huffed and crossed his arms. He couldn't believe how his friends - or rather the people who were _supposed _to be his friends - were treating him. Blaine looked around the room for a few seconds, hoping again that someone would take his side, but instead was greeted with grins and snickers as the rest of the Warblers waited for Blaine's answer.

"Fine," Blaine said finally, rolling his eyes and turning back to Wes. "If I lose this competition I will take down the poster of Kurt above my bed and not talk about him for a month." A smug smile crept across Wes' face as Blaine spoke.

"Excellent," he said, still grinning. "Well then I guess we'd better take a vote."

Stephen glanced away from his computer screen, pausing in the middle of typing an email to look at the discs that had just been dropped on his desk by his assistant.

"What are they?" He croaked, looking back at his PC screen and wincing at the sound of his voice. He'd been holding back what he was certain was going to be - or maybe already was - an awful cold. It seemed that it didn't matter how much he tried to ignore it, his pounding headache and streaming eyes weren't going away anytime soon. However, he'd been determined to not let it show to anyone that he might have been ill - illness was a weakness, and Stephen was not a weak person. He'd hoped that maybe he'd have been able to get through that day without being bothered and could simply concentrate on answering his emails and grumbling to himself in peace, but as usual, it seemed he wasn't going to get what he wanted.

"These are the finalists of the 'Be an Extra' competition for you to watch so you can pick a winner," Ruth said as she watched Stephen get sucked back into his work. He didn't respond and, after a few minutes, Ruth wasn't certain if he'd even paid attention to her, so she cleared her throat to remind him that she was still there. "We've let everyone know who they all are and posted their videos online so we have to reveal the winner within the next few days... A decision really needs to be made today to give us a chance to contact the winner before announcing it." Stephen gruffly grunted in response, refusing to take his eyes off of his computer screen. Ruth stood there for a second longer, not sure if she should leave or not. After a few uncomfortable moments, Stephen slowly stopped typing and turned to look at her.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" He asked her as he narrowed his eyes in question.

"No..." Ruth said hesitantly. "I just need to make sure that you'll do this today... if-if you like, I can help you with it?" Stephen widened his eyes in anger at the insinuation from his assistant that he might need help with a menial task such as this.

"Maybe if you left me alone for five, fucking, minutes, I could get it done!" Stephen growled and watched as Ruth recoiled slightly before quickly pulling herself back together and presenting him with a small smile. Normally, he might've felt guilty at causing such a reaction in her, but the ache in his head was throbbing so much that he just wanted to do anything to get her to leave. Stephen turned back to his computer screen and allowed himself to cradle his forehead in one of his hands for a moment, before shaking it off and going back to typing.

"Ok." Ruth said quietly and took a step towards him. "You might want these, though." She placed a few small items on the table before turning and walking out of the room. Stephen continued to type for a few more moments, pointedly ignoring whatever it was that Ruth had placed onto his desk, until finally his curiosity got the better of him. He glanced to the end of the desk and noticed a box of aspirin, a bottle of water and a small hot water bottle resting beside the discs that Ruth had placed next to him also. Damn. Now he really did feel guilty for snapping at her.

Stephen grumbled to himself for how short sighted he could be sometimes and reached out for the hot water bottle, dropping it behind him so that it rested between his back and the back of the chair before picking up the water and aspirin and taking a few. He took a deep breath and shut his eyes for a few moments, sighing as the warmth from the hot water bottle started to spread across his lower back, distracting him from the itchiness behind his eyes that had kept him up the night before.

He coughed to clear another itch, but this time in his throat, and finally picked up the discs to look at them. Each of them had a different name written in Sharpie directly on the disc - C. Simon, B. Anderson, and L. Murphy. Stephen picked up the disc with the name C. Simon and pushed it into the disc drive of his PC. Immediately, a video of a young, acne ridden boy - who introduced himself as Christopher Simon, 16, from Wyoming - flashed up on his screen and it wasn't long until Stephen was watching the boy rapping his reasons as to why he should be an extra. Stephen did everything he could to not to bang his head on the desk. How cliche. Was this really the best his fans - or his staff - could come up with? He prayed that he'd see an improvement on the next disk and blindly grabbed for another one.

This time it was a girl - Louise Murphy, 22, San Francisco - pretty, slim and walking on a beach. She smiled easily into the camera, enthusiastically giving small pieces of information about herself as waves trickled around her feet. Stephen leaned towards the screen slightly, hoping to see anything beyond the blonde hair and bland personality. Just as he leaned in closer, the girl broke into a run before quickly cartwheeling and flipping across the beach, landing in a split, right next to the word "winner" carved into the sand. Stephen raised his eyebrows. It was impressive, and the boys on the show would go crazy for her, but Stephen couldn't help but think that she'd blend into the background with the sea of good-looking extras that he hired to work on the set. Plus he was almost certain that his male staff had picked her in the hopes of seeing if she was really that flexible in real life, or even maybe in the faint hope that they might find out if she was a good fuck or not. Stephen was almost certain he wouldn't pick her just for that reason alone, if not then for the fact that she clearly liked the spotlight and, as an extra, that would be dangerous, but then it mostly depended on what B. Anderson was like.

Stephen reached out and grabbed the final disc. As soon as it was in his PC, a video popped up with a close up of a young, good looking boy. He had dark, wavy hair that was gelled down carefully and he was wearing a school uniform.

_This must be the ladies choice_, Stephen thought to himself. He wasn't surprised, although he thought they would've gone for fireman more than schoolboy. He supposed that maybe schoolboy made it seem less obvious that the female staff only wanted him there to drool over. The boy excitedly introduced himself as Blaine Anderson, 16 from Ohio. Stephen considered to himself that the name sounded vaguely familiar, but was distracted by how much the boy was bouncing around, how, instead of talking, he was whispering and the fact that he seemed to be in a mall.

"As for the reason why I should be an extra on The Kurt Show, well," Blaine blushed slightly and caught the eye of the person holding the camera and grinned, "instead of tell you, I thought I'd show you... watch this!" Stephen did as he was told and watched as Blaine ran away from the camera and into a crowd of people. Stephen trailed him with his eyes, but quite quickly couldn't see where he was and for a few seconds, he was just watching mall shoppers wander around aimlessly until he heard a few voices starting a distinctive beat. Stephen noticed a couple of boys - in uniforms that matched Blaine's - gathering in the middle of the mall, subtly moving the crowd so that they were surrounded by them while singing the intro music to the song. After a few moments of dancing, they separated to reveal Blaine, who did a small spin on the spot before confidently singing the opening lines of the song.

_Baby girl, where you at?_

_Got no strings, got men attached_

Stephen didn't recognise the tune, not really being a fan of modern music - he loved old British rock instead - but he couldn't deny that Blaine had an incredible voice and certainly knew how to dance. He watched as Blaine smoothly moved his way around the space that they had cleared, working the crowd and interacting with the other boys that were performing with him.

_'Cause you shook that room like a star now,_

_Yes you did, yes you did_

He seemed charming, talented and friendly. Stephen's audience would definitely like him, although Stephen was quickly growing concerned that this would be another contestant that would like the spotlight too much. That was dispelled slightly as Blaine finished the song and clearly blushed at the cheers he was getting from everyone, before turning and clapping for the rest of the boys who performed with him. The camera cut out there, just as the boys were taking their bows and Stephen's PC screen went black.

He took the disc out of his PC and put it back into it's case before spreading them all out on his desk and looking at the names in turn again. This decision was a lot more difficult than he'd expected it to be, mostly because he wanted to pick whichever winner would cause him the less hassle. Both Louise and Blaine could end up liking the limelight a bit too much, making his job substantially more difficult because he would inevitably be the one who would have to keep them in line. Christopher, however, would completely blend into the background and seemed like he wouldn't be any trouble at all. Stephen's decision was made.

"Christopher Simon..." he said to himself, picking up the disc, "welcome to The Kurt Show."


	4. Chapter 4

Something was wrong. Stephen could always tell when something was wrong because Ruth would smile a little bit wider and his coffee would be brought to him just a little bit hotter than normal. Every so often, when something was really wrong, Ruth would start walking backwards in front of him, talking quickly and loudly as he moved throughout the offices, which was exactly what was happening right now. No doubt she was trying to stop, or at least delay, him getting to the set door.

A part of him enjoyed watching her squirm as he got closer to the cast dressing rooms. There was something she was clearly holding back on telling him, so it was her own fault if she felt uncomfortable.

"A-actually, Stephen, there's something I need to tell you before you go in there," Ruth said as Stephen reached for the handle of the door. Bingo.

"Whatever it is, it can wait," Stephen responded - as close to teasing as he ever got - as he pushed open the door of the dressing room. "Right, where's the kid?" Stephen asked, centering his gaze on the boy who was nervously waiting in there, clearly overwhelmed by all of the people rushing around him. He expected to be met with dirty blonde hair and an acne ridden face. Instead he found dark, gelled curls and gleaming hazel eyes.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," the boy said, standing up and holding out his hand for Stephen to shake. Stephen glared at him, looking down at his hand before looking back up at the boy's nervous smile.

"You're not Christopher." Stephen said gruffly, recognising Blaine from his DVD. Aside for the fact that Blaine was wearing a black polo shirt and bow tie instead of his school uniform, he looked exactly the same. Blaine opened his mouth to answer when Stephen spun on his heels to face Ruth. "Why the fuck is this kid here, I said _Christopher_ was the winner?"

"Well, that's what I wanted to tell you." Ruth said, holding out her hands in an attempt to make sure that Stephen stayed calm. It seemed like a silly gesture to Stephen that made him feel more like a child than the man in charge of the whole damn show. "We had a problem with Christopher," Ruth spoke slowly, with an appeasing, calm tone in her voice. Stephen crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

"What on earth could have possibly been the problem, I picked a winner - why isn't he here?" He wasn't an idiot that needed to be calmed; he needed answers.

"Well, it turns out that he lied to us about his age. He wasn't 16... he was 14." Stephen sighed and dropped his head to his chest. Morons. He was working with morons.

"And how come I am only finding out about this now?" Stephen lifted his hand and squeezed the bridge of his nose between to fingers. It was only 9am and he was already getting a headache.

"Well, we only found out last night when we asked him for proof of his identity. He tried to tell us he'd lost it at first, but then his Mom handed it to us. Turns out she didn't realise the rules said 16 and over." Stephen huffed and looked up at her.

"This still doesn't explain why he's here," Stephen jerked a thumb over his shoulder in Blaine's general direction.

"Well, I thought you'd rather not have to deal with solving the issue yourself, and Blaine lives so close he was able to be available at short notice." Ruth said, smiling gently towards Blaine before continuing quietly. "Play nice, Stephen. He was good enough to cancel his plans and make his own travel arrangements to get here this morning."

"Of course he was, he gets to be on The Kurt Show," Stephen said. "It's a dream come true for a kid like him; he doesn't get treated any differently to anyone else." He turned around back to Blaine who looked like he'd been leaning to try and hear what they were saying before hurriedly straightening himself and grinning, blushing guiltily when he realised he'd been caught.

Stephen walked towards Blaine slowly and shook his head.

"Well, you probably know by now that I didn't pick you to be here," he said sternly, to which Blaine nodded quickly, "so you need to listen, do exactly what you're told and keep out of my hair. I don't even want to know that you're here, understand?" Blaine nodded again. "Have you been given your earpiece?" Blaine tapped the side of his ear and nodded once more. "Ok, good. At least my staff can do something right," Stephen muttered to himself. "Now, you shouldn't need to use your earpiece, it's only there just in case. You are an extra and no more, ok? Under no circumstances do you talk to Kurt, you don't pass him any messages, you don't even let him see you. If anyone catches you so much as glance in his direction, you'll be out of here so fast it'll be like you were never here, do you hear me?"

"Yes sir," Blaine smiled and nodded brightly. Stephen practically winced at how unfaltering his enthusiasm seemed to be. Even after being told how easy it would be for him to lose this opportunity, Blaine was still gazing at him in wonder, a wide smile on his face.

"Can I please just say," Blaine said, taking a deep breath, "how big of a fan I am of the show and how grateful I am to be given this chance, sir. I promise I will not mess it up."

"We'll see," Stephen said plainly before turning back to Ruth. "It's almost time for Kurt's arrival at school, I have to get back to the office to oversee everything, can you sort him out?" Ruth nodded quickly and as Stephen left the room he could hear her directing Blaine towards the rest of the extras and telling him to blend in as much as possible. Blaine agitated him. He wasn't sure what it was about him, but there was something he couldn't quite place his finger on that he knew was going to irritate him.

Blaine took a deep breath and slung the tan bag that had been handed to him over his shoulder. This was it. He was about to step onto the set of his favourite show and maybe, if he was lucky, get to stand close to Kurt. _The_ Kurt. There was no way he could even dream about getting a chance like this and all the hustle and bustle of the other students milling around him, waiting to step through that door to get into their first positions, faded into the background as he focussed on what was about to happen.

After a few minutes, the door finally opened and he was pushed through it by the crowd of people behind him, all eager to get to their places in time for Kurt's arrival. He gasped as he stepped into the halls of McKinley High. It was exactly how he imagined it would look in real life, except much smaller.

"Move it, kid." He heard a gruff voice in his ear and realised that he was blocking the door to get into the school.

"S-sorry," Blaine mumbled, stepping out of the way and looking up in time to see a jock that he recognised striding down the hall and pausing at the end of it, by the water fountain. Blaine watched him curiously as the jock stood completely frozen in place.

The bell suddenly rang to signify the start of the day, and Kurt's arrival at school. Blaine jumped in surprise and panicked simultaneously as the whole school sprung to life, including the jock he'd been watching. Blaine wasn't focusing on that now, though, because he wasn't in his starting position. He had been handed a piece of paper with a roughly drawn map to show him where to go, so he hurried to follow it and rushed along the hallway.

He'd been given really simple instructions. Don't interact with Kurt and blend in. Well, so far, he hadn't seen Kurt, so the first thing was done. As for blending in, Blaine was certain that he stuck out like a sore thumb rushing around as he was and he had to do something about it. Maybe if he was holding something, that would help? He quickly rummaged around in the bag he'd been given and pulled out a couple of books to hold. It made him feel a bit better; at least he had something to do with his hands now.

Blaine finally managed to find the locker he was meant to have been at when the bell rang and it happened. He saw him. Kurt Hummel. He was walking along the hallway with Rachel Berry and laughing loudly at something that she was saying. Blaine recognised that laugh. It was the laugh that he used whenever Rachel was being ridiculous and he was thinking of a million ways to tease her. It was so much more stunning in real life than it was on the television, as was Kurt himself. Nothing could've prepared Blaine for how much Kurt's eyes glistened or how perfect his chestnut brown hair was; no picture compared to the real thing in any way.

Blaine stood and watched as Kurt reached his locker and pulled out a few books, gossiping with Rachel and simultaneously checking his hair in the small mirror in his locker. He was perfect and Blaine was entranced. So much so, that he completely didn't see the jock from earlier coming towards him until he collided straight into Blaine with a gruff, "outta my way," causing him to drop his books and fall straight to the ground.

Blaine shook his head and started to reach for his books, hoping to be up and out of there as quickly as possible before anyone even noticed that he'd been pushed down. He saw a pair of feet rush towards him out of his peripheral vision and bend down to help him.

"Oh my God, those guys are such jerks, are you ok?" Blaine heard a soft, musical voice say as the other person quickly scooped up a couple of the fallen books and handed them to Blaine.

"Oh I'm fi-" Blaine stood up and froze when he saw who he was looking at. Oh God. It was him. He was holding out his hand and Blaine was still just staring.

"I'm Kurt, are you new here?" Blaine's eyes widened as Kurt smiled and cocked his head when Blaine didn't answer. He was so beautiful. Even more beautiful now that he was closer, if that was even possible. It was everything Blaine could do to not just grab him and not let go, but Blaine was certain that, that wouldn't be the best first impression to make. "Are you sure you're ok?" Kurt asked, concerned.

Blaine opened his mouth to speak and instantly remembered Stephen words. The fact that he'd been clearly staring at Kurt when he saw him was enough to get Blaine kicked off of the show, let alone what might happen if he spoke to him. Blaine felt his mouth go dry as Kurt continued to look at him, a small smile playing on his perfect lips and, before he knew it, Blaine did the only thing that came to mind that would help him now: he turned on his heels and walked - practically ran - away from Kurt, his heart pounding in his chest. Blaine could feel Kurt's eyes on him as he rushed along the hall away from him, but he didn't stop until he'd turned a few corners, making sure that he would be well hidden.

He leaned up against a wall and gasped a few times to try and catch his breath. That was quite possibly the worst first meeting ever, but at least Blaine could say that he'd done everything possible to follow their rules. It wasn't his fault that Kurt was so wonderful and immediately rushed to help him. Blaine took a last deep breath and pulled his bag closer to him. All he had to do for the rest of the week was wander around the hallways here and there, so he decided that he would do his best to avoid Kurt completely and show the producers that he could stick to their rules. He didn't realise at the time that, that would be easier said than done.


End file.
